Wind-Borne Haze Blankets 24/680 Tuesday; Nothing Burning Locally

Gauzy air hung over much of the 24/680 Tuesday as smoke from northern fires was dragged our way.

Smoke from active fires burning to our north was apparently captured and deposited over much of the 24/680 Tuesday – triggering multiple calls from anxious residents concerned about active local fires.

Orinda Flashers were first to note the smoke’s arrival, followed quickly by residents in Lafayette, Walnut Creek and Concord, all of whom reported the smell of heavy smoke in the area and expressed concern something was on fire here.

Although local fire crews were dispatched to search for fires in areas generating the most smoke calls no fires were found with our junky air eventually attributed to drift smoke from Marin County and further north caught up in an inversion.

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18 Comments

  1. Jinc on Aug 25, 2026 at 5:27 pm

    Strange; it is VERY localized to Lamorinda, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Concord, from what I’m seeing on Purple Air…

    • NEWS24-680 on Aug 25, 2026 at 5:49 pm

      Caught in the swirl, we’re afraid. Not the first time, either…

    • NEWS24-680 on Aug 25, 2026 at 5:50 pm

      Yep… sussed that out several hours ago and Flashed it to our people. A lot of people not buying it and convinced something is burning here!

  2. Gregg on Aug 25, 2026 at 6:01 pm

    Crazy how that smoke is pulled into these valleys.

  3. Jane on Aug 25, 2026 at 6:40 pm

    Very heavy in Walnut Creek

  4. Jason on Aug 26, 2026 at 11:07 am

    Nice to see it cleared out this morning.

    • NEWS24-680 on Aug 26, 2026 at 12:17 pm

      Wasn’t it though? Nice to have it “blow out.”

  5. Emma on Aug 26, 2026 at 11:44 am

    Could have sworn something was on fire here.

    • NEWS24-680 on Aug 26, 2026 at 12:19 pm

      You and quite a few others, Emma!

  6. Sergei on Aug 26, 2026 at 11:54 am

    From your posts it seems this has happened during past fire seasons?

  7. jim on Aug 26, 2026 at 1:31 pm

    Just an FYI-
    they are doing another controlled burn right now (started around Noon Wednesday by Bon Tempe Lake in Marin), and the plumber is visible on AlertCam Vollmer Peak.
    https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/2483

  8. jim on Aug 26, 2026 at 1:31 pm

    Just an FYI-
    they are doing another controlled burn right now (started around Noon Wednesday by Bon Tempe Lake in Marin), and the plume is visible on AlertCam Vollmer Peak.
    https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/2483

    • NEWS24-680 on Aug 26, 2026 at 2:10 pm

      Yessir… and the Berkeley Hills and canyons are already filling up with smoke.

  9. Mindy on Aug 26, 2026 at 2:15 pm

    You can see the column of smoke in Marin

  10. Julia Wyand on Aug 26, 2026 at 6:37 pm

    Really strong again today!!

  11. Garrett on Aug 27, 2026 at 9:43 am

    People on nextdoor still haven’t figured this out.

  12. Veronique de Noailles on Aug 27, 2026 at 1:02 pm

    Hoping for fog and clean air!

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